City Islanders' J.T. Noone comes into third pro season comfortable, confident -- but far from content

J.T. Noone may be comfortable and confident as he bounces into his third season with the Harrisburg City Islanders, but the 23-year-old midfielder can hardly be considered content.

CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-NewsThird-year midfielder J.T. Noone (right), shown earlier in his professional career, is poised to have a terrific season for his hometown Harrisburg City Islanders.

Not after the way his second USL PRO campaign came to a close.

Determined to play a major role for a City Islanders outfit that nearly brought home a USL PRO championship in September, the 6-1, 160-pound Noone checked back into training camp with a renewed enthusiasm that has him wound up and ready to roll as the regular season unfolds.

“I hate to lose and that’s why I like playing here with [head coach] Bill [Becher], Widdow [assistant coach Steve Widdowson] and the players here, because they hate to lose as well,” said Noone, the former Central Dauphin High School standout and Temple All-American.

“I think it’s contagious,” Noone continued. “You saw it last year in our playoff run. There might be times when we struggle and go in slumps, but we always want to win.”

Although the remarkably consistent Noone posted four regular-season points for the City Islanders (14-9-8 overall) a year ago — all on assists — he also bagged goals in two critical contests.

While No. 1 arrived in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, No. 2 came in the USL PRO championship game at the Florida Citrus Bowl. That's where the opportunistic Noone pounced on a sitter just outside the right post, banging in an equalizer with seconds remaining in regulation and sending the City Islanders into overtime against the host Orlando City Lions.

Noone also converted a penalty kick during the all-or-nothing shootout phase — both sides authored finishes in extra time, but the 2-2 deadlock that stood after 120 minutes of end-to-end play sent the game to PKs — but it would not be enough as Becher’s gallant ballclub tumbled 3-2.

“He’s a very solid player,” said Widdowson, the assistant coach who has been alongside Becher for eight-plus seasons. “Does quite a lot. He does work defensively pretty well, but he’s just technical, he sees things, he can break people down. He’s a very solid player.”

And while Noone was performing exceptionally well as the 2011 campaign drew to a dramatic close — likely the highest level of play he’s showcased since signing on with his hometown side — there’s nothing he wants more than to ride those positive waves throughout his third pro season.

Having bagged the game-winning penalty kick in a 2-1 victory in

Courtesy of the Philadelphia UnionJ.T. Noone spent much of his first professional season training with Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union and playing games for the USL PRO Harrisburg City Islanders.

Harrisburg’s opener at Charlotte nearly two weeks ago, he’s off to a strong start for an optimistic City Islanders crew (1-0-1).

“I definitely would [agree that I was playing well late last season],” said the confident yet unpretentious Noone, who spent much of his first professional season riding a non-stop elevator between the City Islanders and the Philadelphia Union, Harrisburg’s Major League Soccer affiliate.

“Obviously, the professional level is much different than the college level and it takes some time to get used to the speed of play and the physicality. And I think there’s a lot of lessons to learn. I hope that I have continued to progress and I look to continue in the future.”

While Noone should continue to progress playing-wise — he’s tucked in a strong Harrisburg midfield that also includes veterans Jason Pelletier and Andrew Welker — he believes his experiences with the indoor Baltimore Blast also should be helpful. For several reasons.

First, by playing effectively in the indoor game’s cozier confines, Noone improved his technical speed. Second, he expects to be more efficient around the goal cage. And despite netting 33 points (14 goals, 5 assists) for the Blast, Noone didn’t like the way that season ended either.

Particularly since the Blast fell to Milwaukee in the MISL championship series.

“It was an overtime loss as well,” lamented Noone. “It’s been devastating the past two seasons I’ve had, with outdoor here and the indoor season. But I guess the only thing you can do is just learn from it. And know next year what it’s gonna take, which is an even-better effort.”

So, during the offseason, he was lifting weights and doing extra conditioning. He also admitted to logging plenty of miles the last month of the indoor campaign — by running after practice.

Combine that with Noone’s play down the stretch last August and September, and one can understand why he’s feeling more comfortable and confident.

Harrisburg’s season-ending loss is a different story.

“After last year, I know now what it’s gonna take to get to the championship game,” Noone said. “I tried to be even better prepared than last year.”

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